MinuciusFelix, Marcus

, a father of the primitive
church, flourished in the third century. He is said to have
been an African by birth, but little is known of his history,
except tiiat he was a proselyte to Christianity, resided at
Rome, and followed the profession of a lawyer. He is now
known by his excellent dialogue, entitled “Octavius.” At
what time he wrote it is a contested point, but as he appears to have imitated Tertullian, and to have been copied
by Cyprian in his treatise “De idolornm vanitate,” it
may probably be referred to the reign of the emperor Caracalla. The speakers in this dialogue are Caecilius, a
heathen, and Octavius, a Christian; and Minucins, as their
common friend, is chosen to moderate between the two
disputants. Octavius is made to encounter the arguments
of Caecilius, and maintains the unity of God, asserts his
providence, vindicates the manners of Christians, and
partly attempts to explain their tenets, and partly refers a
more ample consideration of them to some future opportunity of discourse. It is a learned, elegant, and ingenious
performance, although critical objections may be made to
the form of the dialogue, and to some of the sentiments.
This work was, for a considerable time, attributed to Arnobius; but in 1560, FrancisBaldwin, a learned lawyer,
published it at Heidelberg, in 8vo, and made the discovery in a preliminary dissertation, that Minucius was its
true author. It has, since that time, gone through many
editions, of which the best is that printed at Cambridge
in 1712, with the dissertation of Baldwin prefixed, and
w Commodiani Instructiones adversus Gentium Deos,"
added in the way of appendix. We have likewise an
excellent translation of it, with notes and illustrations,
published by sir D. Dalrymple, lord Hailes, in 1781, from
the preface to which part of the above account is taken. 2

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